As the svelte star of iconic ’90s sitcom “The Nanny,” Fran Drescher modeled some of the decade’s most covetable designer creations — but according to the actress, her slender frame was due to post-traumatic stress.
“I’d been the victim of a violent crime about 10 years before ‘The Nanny,’ and I hadn’t really dealt with that,” Drescher, who in 1985 was raped at gunpoint during a harrowing home invasion, said during a discussion at NYC’s The Wing last Friday.
“I had to deal with it once I became famous and it came out, though — thank God I was in therapy! Honestly, I just loved going to work and being Fran Fine, because she was nothing but funny and light, and my life was kind of a mess. I think that was part of why I was so thin.”
Added Drescher, “I look back at some of those episodes, and I remember what was going on behind the scenes, and it wasn’t pretty. When I sold the show [in 1993], I was 142 pounds — and by the time we were in our fifth season, I was maybe 110 pounds. I was burning the candle at both ends.”
Today, having returned to a healthy weight and defeated uterine cancer, Drescher said she’s all about “honoring my body,” and doesn’t miss her old physique. The actress managed to snag some pieces from the show’s wardrobe to keep — but, she said, “most of them don’t fit anymore. And I’m really okay with that. I couldn’t be that thin anymore and still look good.”
Still, she confesses she still has a soft spot for the 1990s, and for the era’s fashion in particular.
“The ‘90s was such an exciting time,” Drescher told Page Six. “It was the dot-com boom, the Clinton era, and money was free-flowing. And what we saw emerge out of that era — Moschino, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Todd Oldham — was incredible. Even Chanel, a classic older label, was getting young. I wore Chanel miniskirts on the show, with the cropped jackets and chain belts! It was a better decade.”
And though Drescher had teased a “Nanny” reboot earlier last week, she shut down rumors of a revival during her Friday chat.
“It’s not true,” the star confirmed. “I mean, never say never, but what I said was: Peter [Marc Jacobson, Drescher’s ex-husband and ‘The Nanny’ co-creator] and I are working on a very exciting project that I think the fans will be very happy with — when we’re ready to announce it.”
Drescher added that since “The Nanny” ended with her character marrying her wealthy boss, Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy), a reboot would have to involve major structural changes. “I’m not looking to revisit Fran Fine because, first of all, it wouldn’t be the same show. It can’t be ‘The Nanny’ — I’m Mrs. Sheffield now!” she said.
Drescher’s latest film, “Hotel Transylvania 3,” opens July 13.
